Rhymin & Stealin by Beastie Boys Lyrics Meaning – Decrypting the Pirate’s Anthem in Hip Hop
Lyrics
I’m gonna board your ship and turn it on out
No soft sucker with a parrot on his shoulder
‘Cause I’m bad, gettin’ bolder, cold getting colder
Terrorizing suckers on the seven seas
And if you’ve got beef, you’ll get capped in the knees
We got sixteen men on a dead man’s chest
And I shot those suckers and I’ll shoot the rest
Most illingest B-boy, I got that feeling
‘Cause I am most ill and I’m rhymin’ and stealin’
Snatching gold chains, nicking pieces of eight
I got your money and your honey and the fly name plate
We got wenches on the benches, and bitties with titties
Housing all girlies from city to city
One for all and all for one
Taking out MCs with a big shotgun
All for one and one for all
Because the Beastie Boys have gone AWOL
Friggin’ in the riggin’ and cuttin’ your throat
Big biting suckers getting thrown in the moat
We got maidens and wenches, man ,they’re on the ace
Captain Bly is gonna die when we break his face
Most illingest B-boy, I got that feeling
I am most ill and I’m rhymin’ and stealin’
Ali Baba and the forty thieves
Ali Baba and the forty thieves
Ali Baba and the forty thieves
Ali Baba and the forty thieves
Ali Baba and the forty thieves
Ali Baba and the forty thieves
Ali Baba and the forty thieves
Ali Baba and the forty thieves
Torching and crackin’ and rhymin’ and stealin’
Robbin’ and raping, busting two in the ceiling
I’m wheeling’, I’m dealin’, I’m drinking, not thinking
Never cower, never shower, and I’m always stinking
Yo-ho-ho and a pint of Brass Monkey
And when my girlie shakes her hips, she sure gets funky
Skirt chasing, free basing, killing every village
We drink and rob and rhyme and pillage
Most illingest B-boy, I got that feeling
I am most ill and I’m rhymin’ and stealin’
(I was drinking) I’ve been drinking my rum, a def son of a gun
(I fought the law) and I cold won
Blackbeard’s weak, Moby Dick’s on the chicks
‘Cause I pull out the jammy and squeeze off six
My pistol is loaded, I shot Betty Crocker
Deliver Colonel Sanders down to Davey Jones’ locker
Rhymin’ and stealin’ in a drunken state
And I’ll be rockin’ my rhymes all the way to Hell’s gate
Most illingest B-boy, I got that feeling
I am most ill and I’m rhymin’ and stealin’
Most illingest B-boy, I got that feeling
I am most ill and I’m rhymin’ and stealin’
Most illingest B-boy, I got that feeling
‘Cause I am most ill and I’m rhymin’ and stealin’
Most dillingest B-boy, I got that feeling
I am most ill and I’m rhymin’ and stealin’
Most chillingest B-boy
I am most ill and I’m rhymin’ and stealin’
Most killingest B-boy
I am most ill and I’m rhymin’ and stealin’
Most dusted out B-boy, I’m tossin’ my dust
Most finkinest B-boy, I’m doin’ that finkin’
Most rhyminest B-boy, I’m stretchin’ my shade
Most shootinest B-boy, I think you’re shit
Most rhyminest B-boy, I’ll steal your shit, homeboy
Most taxinest B-boy, I’ll tax you, boy
Most illingest, illingest, illingest B-boy
Taxin’ all y’all squares, yeah
The 1980s were a melting pot of cultural shifts and nowhere was this more evident than in the emergent hip-hop scene. The Beastie Boys, a trio known for their libertine antics and infectious beats, dropped ‘Rhymin & Stealin,’ a pirate-themed juggernaut that fused the swagger of old seafarers with the gritty landscape of urban rap. But behind the bombastic bravado and thumping basslines lies a track teeming with metaphor and subtext that speaks volumes about the culture of bravado, rebellion, and identity.
Dissecting ‘Rhymin & Stealin’ not only provides a window into the Beastie Boys’ artistic minds but also serves as a commentary on broader socio-cultural paradigms. It’s a benchmark of the group’s ability to blend historical imagery with contemporary street narratives, creating a uniquely anarchic soundtrack that resonates with the fearless spirit of youth.
Commandeering the Hip-Hop Vessel: A Quest for Authenticity
The Beastie Boys were pirates in their own right—outsiders who stormed the bastions of predominantly African-American hip-hop and helped make it a universal language. By declaring ‘mutiny on the bounty,’ they’re not just appropriating pirate lingo; they’re staging an insurrection against the expected norms, illustrating a readiness to overthrow established conventions and turn the music scene ‘on out.’
Their defiance of the ‘soft sucker’—perhaps a shot at the less authentic, more commercial side of the industry—highlights a rugged individualism. It’s the Beastie Boys setting sail in uncharted waters, fearless and vying for hip-hop gold.
An Inventory of Vices: Decoding the Beastie Boys’ Treasures
Amidst the playful bravado of ‘nicking pieces of eight,’ ‘rhyming and stealing,’ and the conquests of unapologetic drunken revels is a raw, unfiltered celebration of the anti-hero. The aggressive posturing and braggadocio seem to point towards the golden spoils that come with a rebellious lifestyle in the industry.
The ‘wenches on the benches’ and ‘maidens…on the ace’ though problematic through a modern lens, depict a world where the boys play by their own rules, indulging in the hedonistic spoils evocative of a pirate’s plunder.
Blasting Canons of Rhetoric: The Beastie Boys’ War on Mediocrity
The line ‘One for all and all for one’ parrots the musketeers’ credo but also serves as a rallying cry for unity among the like-minded. It’s a sonic broadside against the MCs of lesser mettle, an assertion that in the Beastie Boys’ domain, there is no room for mediocrity.
By celebrating their AWOL status, the Beastie Boys embrace their outsider identity and turn it into a weapon. Firing ‘lyrical shots’ with a ‘big shotgun,’ they’re on the offensive, taking down the establishment with rhymes sharp as cutlasses.
The Hidden Treasure Map: Untangling the Subliminal Messages
Although the surface suggests revelry and chaos, ‘Rhymin & Stealin’ is a complex narrative of subversion. References to Ali Baba and the historical Blackbeard weave a subtle thread connecting past rebellious figures with the contemporary renegades. It suggests an ongoing struggle against oppression, hegemony, and the sanitization of culture.
The Beastie Boys are claiming a lineage with outlaws and legends, drawing a throughline from historical acts of defiance to the modern fight for creative freedom and authenticity in art.
Notorious Lines That Resonate with the Rogues of Rhythm
‘No soft sucker with a parrot on his shoulder’ is more than just a colorful line; it is a disdain for pretenders, a rebuff of the inauthentic. Similarly, ‘I fought the law and I cold won’ encapsulates the rebellious victory over systems that aim to control or limit.
‘My pistol is loaded, I shot Betty Crocker’ perhaps one of the most memorable lines, symbolizes an attack on ‘cookie-cutter’, commercialized Americana, a stark contrast to the group’s gritty reality. These lines cement the Beastie Boys’ status as pioneers who invented their own rules, setting the stage for a new breed of hip-hop artists.
